Abstract

Time series clustering is used to show that, relatively, the career progression of Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman's test career as a batsman was most similar to West Indian Brian Lara. Consequently, it is likely his peak performance would have occurred while the Second World War disrupted all international cricket.

Data from the 20 international cricketers who played in at least 70 innings over more than 17 years and averaged more than 40 runs per dismissal (as at January 1, 2009) is used to create a number of global measures that indicate the ebb and flow of a career. As is shown in this paper, this clustering methodology, proposed by Wang et al. (2006), generates instinctive clustering results and can be applied on different length time series.

Utilizing the framework created for clustering, Bradman's batting average is estimated to be 105 if his career had been uninterrupted.

Recommended Citation

Bracewell, Paul J.; Farhadieh, Farinaz; Jowett, Clint A.; Forbes, Don G. R.; and Meyer, Denny H. (2009) "Was Bradman Denied His Prime?," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports: Vol. 5 : Iss. 4, Article 3.
DOI: 10.2202/1559-0410.1195
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/jqas/vol5/iss4/3